Tuesday, April 07, 2015

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) today unveiled a new smartphone
app to help anglers and boaters better navigate the Keystone State’s streams and
lakes. The “FishBoatPA” app will help Pennsylvania’s fish and boat community to
see which waters have been stocked with trout, how to get to those locations
easily, and what other access areas are near their current fishing spot.

The new
“FishBoatPA” app is now available for free on both Google’s Play Store and
Apple’s App Store.

According to
PFBC Executive Director John Arway, the goal of the app is to meet the needs of
anglers who are increasingly using smartphones.

“We want to
make it as easy as possible to access our stocking information and purchase a
fishing license,” he said. “The use of smartphones has skyrocketed, so we have
found a way to improve the fishing and boating experience for our anglers and
boaters. Now they can spend less time looking for information and more time
fishing and boating.”

First Lady
Frances Wolf, a relative newbie to the angling world, tries to make time to
fly-fish a few times a year.

“I’m excited
to explore the beautiful streams of our state with this new tool,” First Lady
Wolf commented. “I may finally be able to improve my technique with the
FishBoatPA app – it will certainly work better than the “How To” books I usually
carry with me!”

On the PFBC
website, the stocking page is the most visited by far, with anglers generating
more than 1.2 million visits to the page each year. So when the FishBoatPA app
opens, the first item anglers see is an “Upcoming Trout Stocking” link, which
updates in real-time.

Users can sort
stocking schedules by county. The app is tied directly into the PFBC’s online
stocking schedule, so anglers can see past and upcoming stockings and the type
of trout placed in a water. GIS coordinates allow users to use mapping apps
installed on their phones to get directions to their favorite stocking site.

The “Near Me”
feature uses a phone’s GIS coordinates to locate and display trout waters within
5, 15, 25 and 50 miles of the user.

Another
prominent feature on the app home page is the link “Get a license today.” This
enables users to find an issuing agent near them and to see pricing options for
licenses.

The app also
links to a “Fish ID” guide with color pictures; a “Learn” section with links to
helpful information like tying knots and learning how to properly handle fish;
and to PFBC rules and regulations.

Another option
is a “My Trophies” section where anglers can post pictures to share with others
using the app. Users can add a title, fish weight and length, the date they
landed the fish, and their comments, like the type of lure they used. They can
then share their trophies by email, text message or through social media sites
like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter.

Arway said
additional content and enhancements will be added in the coming months to make
the app even more appealing to anglers and boaters.

Monday, April 06, 2015

When you take into account all the water flow data, the water temperature,
the hatch du jour, the Solunar tables, the tides, the moon
phase, the flowers that are blooming, and the price of tea in China, the best
time to go fishing is when you can, where you can, and for what you can. Just play the cards you're dealt and enjoy
the game.

One other important consideration, and I'm being serious here, is to
fish far from the cell towers. I don't
know if it's the electromagnetic fields, but when you're away from the
towers I've noticed that your phone doesn't ring. And that just makes a good
thing better.

The extended period of ice, blanketed by deep snow, is likely to result in
fish die-offs in numerous western New York ponds, according to New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation (DEC) Region 9 fisheries biologists.

"As winter ice has started to melt away, we are receiving calls from
concerned pond owners reporting large numbers of dead fish in their ponds," said
DEC Regional Fisheries Manager Michael Clancy. "In most cases, fish kills that
become evident when the ice melts can be attributed to a natural phenomenon
known as winterkill."

Winter die-off of fish, or "winterkill," is caused by oxygen depletion in the
water through the winter. Ice that accumulates on ponds or lakes prevents wind
action from adding oxygen to the water. If there is significant winter snow
accumulation on top of the ice, sunlight is prevented from reaching plant life
in the pond. Without adequate sunlight, the oxygen-creating process of
photosynthesis cannot occur.

Shallower ponds are particularly susceptible to winterkill, due to their low
storage capacity for oxygen. With the exception of extreme situations, it is
rare that all fish in a pond will die as a result of winterkill. Typically,
larger fish are more susceptible than smaller fish.

"Sensitivity to low oxygen levels varies by fish species," Clancy said. "For
instance, catfish and carp are more tolerant of low oxygen levels than species
such as sunfish, bass or trout."

If desirable fish species are completely eliminated from the pond due to
winterkill, replenishment by stocking may be necessary. Please remember to
obtain applicable stocking permits from DEC.

A long-term approach to avoiding winterkills is to deepen the pond. Pond
depths exceeding 12 feet are recommended since ponds will gradually fill in over
time. Removing some of the organic substrate (decaying plant material) that
accumulates within the pond can also help combat oxygen depletion. As a pond
ages, organic materials are deposited on the pond bottom; these decaying
materials have a high metabolic demand for oxygen.

Saturday, April 04, 2015

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) announced today that it has
withdrawn a proposal to change the Delayed Harvest Artificial Lures Only (DHALO)
regulations after receiving public comments overwhelmingly opposed to the
measure.

The PFBC Board of Commissioners approved the withdrawal
of the proposal and the end of the public comment period in a vote conducted
this week.

“The DHALO program is a stocked trout program, and
social factors play a critical role in how the program is managed,” said PFBC
Executive Director John Arway. “The proposed changes were designed to do two
things: first, maximize the harvest of stocked trout before stream temperatures
increase to lethal levels and, second, increase the opportunity for kids to
catch fish.”

“The proposed changes generated much public comment in
which questions were posed that would require substantial staff time and effort
to fully answer,” he added. “Therefore, we believe that we need to withdraw this
idea and focus on identifying other changes where we can more easily accomplish
these objectives.”

Approved at the PFBC’s January 2015 quarterly business
meeting, the proposal included the following:

Move the start of the trout harvest period from June 15
to the Saturday before Memorial Day.

Allow the use of bait by all anglers during the trout
harvest period.

Allow youth anglers under the age of 16 to use bait
year-round in DHALO areas.

Change the minimum length limit from 9 inches to 7
inches.

As of March 31, the agency had received 343 comments,
with all but five opposed to the proposal. A main concern expressed by the
individuals was the use of bait during the harvest period.

First launched in 1983, the DHALO program is designed to
make more stocked trout available later in the season. The current regulations
allow harvest only between June 15 and Labor Day, have a minimum size limit of
nine inches, and a creel limit of three fish. The waters are open to fishing
year-round.